Hop in the car to see some of the area's most festively lit homes

3:03 PM,
Dec. 7, 2012

Written by

JAN PETERSON for the NEWS-LEADER

For 17 years, John Barber has illuminated his house for Christmas. With a helicopter perched on the roof, it's hard to miss. But Barber decided not to put the display up last year. Instead, he took a three-week vacation in the Mediterranean. At least one neighbor was alarmed when the now-familiar display wasn't there. "A lady down the street asked my neighbor; she thought I'd died," Barber says with a chuckle. She needn't fear this year, though. Barber is very much back in action. He's among the truly dedicated Christmas lights fans including Mike Bagwell on Cambridge Street, the Bradley ...